


Buff Catbirds, Puns, and Family Fun

by 09Pyros_09Hydros



Series: Former Strider Sprites [3]
Category: Hiveswap, Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Sburb/Sgrub Sessions, BAMF Davepeta, Bird Puns, Birds, Cat Puns, Cats, Davepeta raises Dave after saving him, Dimension Travel, Does it count if you're have alien and from another universe, Domestic Fluff, Eventual Bro/Davepeta, F/F, F/M, Family Feels, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Gender Fluid Davepeta, Humanstuck, M/M, Misunderstandings, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining, Somewhat, Somewhat human Davepeta, Stridercest??, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt, Tags Are Hard, Tags May Change, conflicted feelings, idk - Freeform, work out buddies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-23
Updated: 2019-07-09
Packaged: 2020-01-23 01:39:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18539668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/09Pyros_09Hydros/pseuds/09Pyros_09Hydros
Summary: Derrick Strider was 19 years old when he tried to end it all and ended up being saved by an angel. No one believed him obviously but heknewthe angel was real. Still, the angel made him realize that even though life was shit, he had to do his best for his brother. Like be there for him when one of his kids dies in a hospital fire.Dave E. Sprite was 12 years old when he finally met his biological family, he knew he wasn't actually related to his Mom/Dad because he didn't have cool ass wings like them but still, he didn't want to leave his mom but his biological family seem so cool, not as cool as his parent but yeah.Davepeta, now 'Deilos E. Sprite', wasn't thinking much when they saved this universe's younger and alternate version of his Bro that night at the bridge but they did. They also weren't thinking much when they saved baby Dave from that burning hospital years ago, but they did. Raising baby Dave as their chick/kitten/kid?You bet your ass they didn't think that through.But again, they did. And now everything was biting them in the ass. Also was it wrong to slowly fall in love with the alternate version of your old brother? Yeah? No? Maybe? Fuck if they know.





	1. Obligatory Cat Pun

**Author's Note:**

> I have a problem. I know that. I really do. I have other stories I should work on but THIS has been HAUNTING ME for DAYS and I just needed to get it out before it broke my mind.
> 
> I am so sorry everyone. 
> 
> Also I needed to make a Davepeta fic at some point anyway so might as well.  
> Don't judge me for the pairing, I'm already going to hell as it is I know but hey! Family fluff, Davepeta being a BAMF Buff Catbird person while raising chickadee Dave as their own. Interesting is it not? No? 
> 
> Don't like the romance pair? That's fine! Stick around for family drama and family fluff!

* * *

_Glowing green and orange feathers._

_" You're stupid if you think dyin' is a good way out of this shit." _

_It wasn't?_

_" No. You take life by the reigns and fucking own it, whatever the fuck happened must have been bad but don't let it get to you. Don't you have someone in your life that'd be heartbroken to see your lifeless corpse?" _

_... His brother..._

_" There, see? Your bro ain't gonna like comin' to your funeral to bawl his fucking eyes out." _

_Fuck no he wouldn't. But since when did he care?_

_SMACK_

_Ow._

_" Your bro cares dipshit. Doesn't matter what you did, what he did, what you both did. He cares. Whatever you did, to you or him or whatever, make it up. Now man up and go home dude, and don't try this again, I'm not saving your fat ass if you do." _

_Wait, they were leaving?_

_" See ya, Bro."_

_Don't--_

* * *

"--go!" He finished, panting heavily after abruptly sitting up in his bed. Orange eyes blearily blinked before his head cleared and he groaned, "Fuck." 

That dream again. 

He looked over to his clock, he had woken up before it was set to wake him up. It was tempting to go back to sleep but he didn't really feel like sleeping again after that dream. 

From his night stand, his phone chimed, signaling a message from someone. He ignored it briefly as he stood up, groaning and stretching his body, feeling and hearing each pop and crack of his bones. That was satisfying and hey, no pain, meant he was still in good shape. After that he finally paid his blinking phone some attention, unplugging it from its charger and going out of his room. 

* * *

\-- therapeuticGoddess began pestering technicalGigabyte at [5:45 AM] --

TG: On the off hand chance that you are awake I would like to remind you to come on time for the visit today.   
TG: Rose and the twins are looking forward to you coming, and so is David. 

TG: so you n' rox arent looking forward to seeing my ugly mug? 

TG: Ah, so you are awake.   
TG: Did you just wake up or did you spend another night sleepless and working?  
TG: And on the contrary my sister and I find that your face is almost as handsome as your brother's, the perks of genetics I suppose.

TG: thanks and yeah, just woke up. ain't gonna work all night before visit week. got everything packed up and ready.

TG: Excellent, we'll come pick you up in a couple of hours. 

TG: make that three, got a few things to finish first and then i'm good. 

TG: Three hours it is. 

TG: yep.

TG: We'll see you soon Derrick. 

TG: later rosie, say mornin' to my bro for me.

TG: I will. 

\-- technicalGigabyte ceased pestering therapeuticGoddess at [5:51 AM] --

* * *

He smiled a bit, though it faltered slightly as he re-read 'Rose and the twins'. Even after more than a decade, it still felt wrong. 

His brother was suppose to have four children, not three. Little Davey was suppose to turn twelve this year with Rose. If only...

Shaking his head, he shoved the thoughts aside and focused on going through his morning routine. He still had a couple of projects to deal with before he could leave his apartment to stay with his brother for the week. With a sigh, he entered his bathroom, turning on the lights as he looked at himself in the mirror. 

Rosaline wasn't wrong when she said he was handsome, chiseled chest, muscular form, angular face and a pair of uniquely dark orange eyes. He was indeed, very handsome. Still, he had no one of romantic interest. Sure he's had his couple of one night stands and brief flings but no one was interesting enough for him to stay with. Oh, he had tried before but it just ended up a mess when he officially couldn't reciprocate the other's feelings. 

Deciding that enough was enough and that he should stop staring at himself at the mirror, he went through his morning routine. His morning's dream was half-forgotten as he got ready for the morning. 

His name was Derrick Strider. A single thiry-one year old man that was about to go visit his brother's complicated but stable and loving family for the week. 

Unknown to him, extremely familiar faces and complicated situations awaited for both him and his family in the future. 

And it all tied to that one night he tried to kill himself by jumping off a bridge.

* * *

 "Mom."

" _Nn._ " 

"Mooom." 

" _Mrr..._ " 

"Moooom, hey, hey, moooom, wake uuup." 

An olive eye opened blearily from underneath a pale and freckled arm as well as a green and orange feathery cover, "'M not feelin' like 'mom' chicky." He huffed out with a wide yawn. 

A pause, "So it's 'dad' today?" 

"Mhmm, got that right chick-a-dee." "Okay. Daaaad, hey, hey, daaaad, wake uuup." 

He let out an amused puff of laughter, "Alright, alright, I'm up." He said, shrugging off the blanket off himself, stretching on the bed-nest while letting out a roar of a yawn much to the amusement of the little boy that was standing beside the nest-bed. He groaned, feathers fluffing up as he continued to stretch. "Mornin' lil' chick." He greeted, rubbing his face and looking at the blond little boy that watched him with amused red eyes. 

"Morning dad." His son, still somewhat weird but a fond weird, replied. "C'mon, get up. Breakfast is ready now." He told him, about to leave the side of the nest only for his small body to be snatched and dragged into the bed. "Wha- Daaaaad!" The child whined as his father let out a pleased purr while nuzzling the smaller person, wrapping the both of them with feathers. "Dad let me gooo, breakfast is gonna get cold." 

"In a _mew_ nute chicky." 

"... Minute over, let me go!" 

With a chuckle he did, watching with amusement as his little chick grumbled over his now messy hair, picking at the feathers that had stuck to it, he didn't miss how he tucked those feathers away though and smiled, giving one final stretch before climbing out of bed. "What did you make for breakfast this time chicky?" Deilos asked, running a hand through his lime green hair, his orange and olive eyes glittering with amusement and interest.

Red eyes brightened and a smile was aimed his way as they finally left his bedroom, Deilos' wings disappearing into his back and turning into beautiful tattoos since it would be a hassle to drag them around, "I made pancakes. Good ones this time." Dave told him, looking all too proud over what he said and made.

"Hey, your pancakes are always good." 

"Even when they're burnt and stuck on the ceiling?" 

" _Especially_ then." They both knew it didn't but laughed nonetheless. 

With that, their morning routine started in the Sprite household. Both of them situated in the living room, chowing on Dave's homemade strawberry pancakes and maple syrup while watching morning cartoons, either laughing or nitpicking the cartoon as they ate. Deilos finished first as always, intending to take a bath afterwards, something Dave had already finished since he had woken up early today. 

Dave liked waking up before his dad though half the time it was his dad waking up before him. 

The ten year old child stayed in the living room to watch tv as Deilos left to shower, entering the bathroom and looking at the mirror. Observing his physical looks, his hair had turned lime green after entering the universe with hints of orange here and there and was impossibly natural though many mistook it as dyed, he also turned heterochromic so he had both an orange and olive colored eye, though they'd switch from time to time which was cool to him and pretty much freaky and impossible to others. He hid his eyes with his shades, he had three, the classic black, a cool orange and a bright green. His skin was pale and freckly, it dusted his face, shoulders and hips the most. His horns had disappeared but his wings had stayed strangely enough, though luckily he could hide them in his skin, it had taken a while to figure out and perfect but he didn't have to worry about being captured by any freak circus or mad scientist or anything. 

His very existence was supposed to be an impossibility but he just went with it because what else can you do?

It had been a long twelve years but he knew exactly how old he was now, and exactly how long it had been since he had came into this universe. He was twenty-nine now, having turned freshly seventeen when Davesprite had merged with Nepetasprite to make Davepetasprite^2-  _him_ , or well,  _her_ or  _they_ now. He liked to mix it up now and then. 

He had long changed his name from Davepetasprite, he was now Deilos E. Sprite. A single parent living in a good apartment with his adopted son, Dave E. Sprite. The alternate version of half of himself.

How he managed to do that...  _well..._

* * *

_Deilos watched with stunned horror as the hospital was in flames, he didn't know what the cause was but it was on_ fire _and_ everything was **burning** _._

_"Dave! Dave- my **baby's still in there!** " Screamed a vaguely familiar voice, he glanced over to a blond woman with dark pink eyes, trying to fight against the firefighter that was holding her back. _

_Horror filled his being before it was replaced with grim determination and without any hesitance, he ran into the flames much to the protest of the others._

* * *

Yeah, it had been two messes and a half. 

Long story short, the hospital Dave had been in had caught fire and he had managed to save the baby from being burnt into a crisp. He should have returned the babe to his rightful family but... There was just  _something_  that stopped him and he ended up faking the baby's death and adopting the child as his own. 

It had been very weird at first, awkward even, and he had been tempted to just bring Dave back to his family but... he never could. He felt guilt over it but no regret whatsoever. Over the past ten years, he'd done his best for Dave, raising his chick/kitten/kid the best he could and he liked to think he did a good job. 

_~~A better job his Bro ever did.~~ _

" _Hey Dad can I have some ice cream?_ " Deilos blinked as Dave's voice called from the door after a couple of knocks. He let out a snort and replied back, "Sure! Just don't eat it all up! Save some _fur_  me!" 

" _Got it!_ " 

Deilos smiled and shook his head, enough internal dialogue, he had to shower and make sure Dave didn't eat all the vanilla ice cream!

* * *

\-- muscularOrator [MO] began pestering combinedTails [CT] at [10:49 AM] --

MO: DEILOS.

CT: B33 < sup nikh33  
CT: B33 < hows it going

MO: TRAIN WITH ME  
MO: IM FUCKING BORED

CT: BPP < *deilos crosses his arms with false irritation* what no hellos or even a reply to my question?? 

MO: Hi.  
MO: Things are fine but I'm bored as hell.  
MO: Train.  
MO: With.  
MO: Me.

CT: B33 < that's mewch better.   
CT: B33 < sure, gotta ask tho, konyyl outta town?

MO: Yes.  
MO: She'll be out of town for a few days and it's ANNOYING.  
MO: HGGGRAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!  
MO: NONE OF THESE SHMUCKS CAN HANDLE THIS LEVEL OF SWOLE BUT YOU AND KONYYL BUT SHE'S OUT OF TOWN SO THERE'S JUST YOU.  
MO: COME ON DEILOS COME TO MY GYM AND FUCKING BENCH PRESS ME YOU BEAUTIFUL BASTARD.

CT: B?? < bench press with you or literawrlly bench press you 

MO: You bench press me.  
MO: And I lift your brat.

CT: B33 < *deilos smirks at nik33*   
CT: B33 < you heard how konyyl bench pressed me while i held on to dave didnt you

MO: Fuck yes.  
MO: If only Kon was here so we could complete the circle.

CT: B33 < let me ask dave if he wants to be bench pressed

MO: IF HE SAYS YES I'LL GET HIM SOME OF THE GOOD SHIT.

CT: premium grade apple cider with two slices of apple pie

MO: Duh.

CT: count me in  
CT:   
CT: BPP < ch33ky little shit got to my phone again *deilos says with annoyance and some purride*

MO: Good for him, now get the fuck over here to my gym so I can have some fun. 

CT: B33 < right right  
CT: B33 < see ya there nikh33  
CT: B33 < youre paying for lunch btw 

MO: [()] FINE JUST GET OVER HERE.  
MO: [()] LOOK I'M EVEN DOING MY STUPID QUIRK THING LIKE YOU DO EVERY GODDAMN TIME

CT: B]] < heh

\-- combinedTails [CT] ceased pestering muscularOrator [MO] at [11:01 AM] --

* * *

WA: []????[]  
WA: []daave where'd you goo??[]

TG: sorry dad wanted to ask me something  
TG: that said sorry wan, gtg  
TG: aunt nike wants us over, she wants dad to bench press her while she bench presses me 

WA: []oWo!![]  
WA: []aWesome!! i Wanna come over but i'm still grounded ~n~[]

TG: i told you bronya wouldnt like you to do that stuff on your own  
TG: youre lucky you only got away with like a week grounding  
TG: and dads lucky bronya didnt hit him or something  
TG: but then again she probably couldnt because its dad and all and no one can seriously hurt dad  
TG: like seriously  
TG: hes that awesome 

WA: []OwO i knoooWWW!!! your dads so coooool!![]

TG: i know  
TG: but seriously i gotta go, see ya later wanshi  
TG: we good for the trip tomorrow with kar right?

WA: []yup!! oh and the others are coming too, is that okay?[]

TG: ye

WA: []Whoo! Well, later dave![]

TG: later

\-- turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering warriorAnimals [WA] at [11:05 AM] --

* * *

"Got e _fur_ ythin'?" Deilos asked as he rolled his shoulders, Dave nodded behind him, tapping his black shades and jostling his backpack to show that he was ready to go. Deilos grinned, nodding to himself, "Alright, let's go then." He chirped, a bit literally. His vocal chords were complicated, he could chirp like a bird, purr like a cat- remnants of both his prototypings. He more or less accepted them now though, no other choice than to do that and try to control it the best he could. 

And with that, they went out of the window and towards the side escape route of their apartment. 

Why use the door when there was a perfectly good window? They lived on the top floor of their apartment, but it wasn't that high, just about four stories high. The roof was also practically theirs as well, they spent a lot of time on that roof. 

At any rate though, they rarely went used the front door, it was kept locked most of the time. Other people used their front door but not them. 

Nikhee's gym wasn't that far for them, about thirty minutes from their apartment when they jogged. Forty-five minutes if they walked. They decided to jog since Nikhee would've been more annoyed if they took their time to get to her gym when she  _perfectly knew_ how close they actually were. 

" _Finally_ you guys took  _forever!!_ " Nikhee complained the moment they stepped through the door of her gym though she was grinning widely at the sight of the both of them.

Nikhee Moolah didn't tower over Deilos like Konyyl did, but she was certainly large. The blue eyed, black haired swole-muscular woman with a prosthetic left leg owned the gym, literally,  _Buff n' Swole_ was owned by her. She was three years older than her, entering her thirties and almost mid-thirty but keeping herself  _extremely_ in shape. 

"'Sup aunt Nike." Dave greeted, "You keeping your word?" 

Nikhee grunted, deadpanning at Dave, "'Course brat, now come on we got  _brench pressing_ to do!" 

Deilos just laughed, shaking his head and taking off his jacket so he could change into his work-out clothes. 

* * *

\-- snakeBytes [SB] began pestering combinedTails [CT] at [12:00 PM] --

SB: yo dee you there;

\-- combinedTails [CT] is idle! --

SB: hm;

\-- combinedTails [CT] is online! --

SB: dee?;

CT: sup mal

SB: sup lil dee;

CT: nothin much 

SB: where's ya...;  
SB: which = it today?;

CT: dad

SB: ah; got it;  
SB: so what's got dee occupied today right now;

CT: hold on

\-- combinedTails [CT] has sent an image! --

SB: holy shit

CT: i know

SB: i know dee was strong as hell but damn

CT: youve seen dad lift heavier objects

SB: yeah but thats nikhee, an actual person instead of an object;  
SB: also nikhee's got you in her arms like that with added weight;  
SB: your dads a fucking beast;

CT: ehh fair point and ye i know  
CT: dads fucking awesome  
CT: theyve been at it for like twenty minutes now  
CT: took ten minutes to get things properly done without falling over but yeah  
CT: gotta stop soon though aunt nike promised apple cider and apple pie for me to get here

SB: ah;   
SB: you snatched dee's phone in the meanwhile?;

CT: duh

SB: good one lil dee;  
SB: tell your dad to contact me when he's got the time;

CT: ye got it

SB: later lil dee;

CT: later mallek

\-- snakeBytes [SB] ceased pestering combinedTails [CT] at [12:08 PM] --

* * *

\-- timeausTestified [TT] began pestering technicalGigabyte [TG] at [12:15 PM] --

TT: You there at the house now.

TG: yep.  
TG: still at school?

TT: Yep.  
TT: I don't get why we even have to go, half of my classmates are idiots.

TG: and the other half?

TT: Morons.  
TT: Roxy is obviously an exception.

TG: ah yes, very different.

TT: At least we have the rest of the week off, Easter Break and all.

TG: fuck yeah.

TT: Roxy and Rose say hi by the way. 

TG: hey gals, hope you lil' shits survive today.

TT: Thanks for the sentiment.  
TT: Gotta go, see you later Uncle Derrick.

TG: later mini-me.

\-- technicalGigabyte [TG] ceased pestering timeausTestified [TT] at [12:20 PM] --

* * *

"Uuuncle Deerriiiiick!!!" 

Derrick grunted, thankfully not toppling over as he caught the excited blond female that charged into his arms. He laughed and returned the hug that she was giving him, "Hey there Roxy." He greeted, smiling as he looked down to his brother's youngest daughter. From the doorway he sees both Rose and Dirk, smiling and grinning at the sight of him, "Rose, Dirk." He nodded at them, walking over, still holding on to Roxy who giggled with delight. 

"Hello uncle." Rose greeted, putting down two backpacks, one that belonged to her and the other was Roxy's. Dirk did the same, grinning widely afterwards, pouncing on Derrick as well- while he wasn't as energetic as his twin sister was, he was still very excited to see his uncle. 

Derrick merely laughed and held both ten year olds in his hands, one hand around Roxy while the other wrapped around Dirk. "Jesus, you two are getting heavier with each visit." He mock-complained, though he leaned down to let Rose give her tentative and brief hug before standing up straight again. "Come on you three, your parents are in the kitchen. Rox's making dinner tonight." Rose perked, smiling at the mention of her mother and followed after Derrick who carried both Dirk and Roxy into the kitchen. 

"Bro, your brats are home." 

David Strider's red eyes blinked at the sight of his younger brother bringing in his twin children, "Welcome home kids." He greeted, laughing while Rosaline shook her head though her dark lavender eyes were laced with amusement and mirth. 

"Derrick, put Dirky and Roxy down! It's almost time for dinner!" Roxanne giggled, briefly looking over her shoulder then focusing back on the meal that she was cooking. 

The Strider-Lalonde household was no ordinary household. Roxanne Lalonde was David's first wife, now his-ex while her sister became his second wife due to, unfortunate circumstances. Despite their marital complications, Roxanne lived with David and Rosaline to raise Rose and help raise Dirk and Roxy. There was no strife between the three, Roxanne had actually encouraged Rosaline and David's marriage and had been extremely happy when Rosaline became pregnant with twins- though, she had been a bit jealous when they were born with no problem. 

Twelve years ago, just two years before Rosaline gave birth to Roxy and Dirk, Roxanne gave birth to twins as well. Only one survived the sudden hospital fire, and even then, little Dave had been a weak baby from the get go. It had been a hard time for the Strilonde family, and had become the reason why Roxanne and David had a divorce, they couldn't really keep together, though Roxanne encouraged and approved when her sister and her ex-husband grew closer, which led to Dirk and Roxy being born and David and Rosaline getting married. 

There had been a few problems in the past but they had stayed together, the three of them, not wanting to part the children from their siblings.  

Derrick in the meanwhile, fitted in perfectly as the uncle and outside supporter for his brother and the two women that conceived his nieces and nephew. It was near perfect.

Only 'near'-perfect because there was always a little void in all their chests for the one child that should be sitting with them right now. Derrick wondered sometimes, on what it would be like to have Dave in their family dynamic. 

If only they had saved him from the fire.

* * *

" ** _Achoo!_** " 

"Jesus fuck you two, you guys got a cold or something?" Mallek asked, both bemused and amused as both Deilos and Dave wiped their noses in a similar fashion. "Wanna try this another time?" 

Deilos waved him off, "Nah, must be some dust. Think you managed to get it right this time?" Over at the side, Dave watched with somewhat interested eyes, glancing at the card in Mallek's hands to the card floating in his peripheral vision.

"Think so, wasn't easy but hey, gonna be worth it if this shit actually works." 

"Pretty much _nyah._." 

"Hey dad we're a-okay for the trip tomorrow right?" 

"Yeah chicky, we're okay for the trip tomorrow."

"Awesome."

Mallek hummed, looking over the sleek card, he took a deep breath and shared a grin with Deilos, "Let's see if this works." He flicked the switch on the card, blinking when it suddenly disappeared from his hands. "... Holy shit." 

Deilos grinned widely. " _Well?_ " 

" _Holy shit I did it. I fucking replicated your bullshit sylladex thing!_ "

"Fuck. Yes.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no self-control whatsoever when it comes to ideas like this.  
> Hope you enjoyed.


	2. Obligatory Bird Pun?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just needed to get another chapter of this story out. You know me, not liking to leave a story with one chapter for long, with the exception if it's an intentional one shot. 
> 
> At any rate, we've got things closing in at a face pace! I know I usually draw out things being found out but this story and Metal Heart (oof gotta update that too, damn my unability to refuse ideas) these stories need the characters to be found at an earlier pace so things can go smoothly. I think. I really need to cut back on ideas and think more, I can't handle any more stories unless they're one shots XD

* * *

_Davepeta had no idea where the fuck they were. Where were they?_

_Just a few days ago, they had appeared over some bridge and…_

_The hybrid shook their head, flashes of a familiar blond teen ~~hewasn’twearinghisshades~~ deliberately _jumping off _the bridge, the feeling of adrenaline and fear at the sight causing him to_ m o v e _and_ save _him ~~couldn’tsavehimbeforethirdtime’sthecharm~~ from the shallow waters below. _

_The winged, human? Their horns had disappeared, but their wings stayed and some troll-like features and aspects had stayed, if changed from the original sprite prototypings. The winged former-sprite- they didn’t_ feel _like a sprite anymore, their skin didn’t flash like a neon rave anymore like it had when they first came into the universe but their eyes and wings still did occasionally but aside from that they weren’t sprites anymore._

 _Anyway, the winged former sprite had no idea where they were. Their original theory of time travel -_ he _had been a teen, a broken, despair-filled teen ready to_ throw away his **life** _\-- had been wrong apparently. Some things didn’t add up, there were no sylladexes, no strife specibi and…_

_Davepeta watched from afar, perched carefully and precariously atop of a building’s satellite with a stolen blanket covering their wings to hide the the way it glowed unnaturally in the dark of the night. They had already got the attention of multiple bird watchers with their wings, they were pretty sure there was a forum about them in some cryptid website now. Their eyes though, they could leave them uncovered briefly, their inhuman eyes instantly adjusting in the darkness as they peered down at the apartment loft._

_There, standing by the glass window, was a certain blond duo. One, a young adult and the other a late teen._

_That teen was the very same teen that they had saved a few days ago, and apparently his name… was_ Derrick Strider _._ Younger brother _to_ David Strider _, the man that was standing before him, looking stern and concerned as he and Br-_ Derrick _, talked. Or argued. It looked like arguing. They didn’t know. Just earlier the older Da-_ David _, had punched Derrick’s face, looking all sorts of upset._

_This was an alternate universe they realized when they found out. Or at least, an alternate dimension of a possible timeline? Paradox Space was confusing._

_But at any rate, the teen he had saved was in fact_ not really **his** _younger Bro, but an alternate version of him that for some gog awful reason decided to end it all._

_Whatever it was, Davepeta couldn’t help but feel satisfied at the fact they managed to stop it and managed to smack some sense into B-Derrick. Literally. They giggled at the memory of the slap to the face they had given the blond. He deserved it, thinking that his brother wouldn’t care ~~atthetimehehadthoughhemeant~~ ~~ **Dave**~~ but look at them right now, David forced Derrick into a hug, crying which led to Derrick crying as well. _

_These Striders were so_ different _. It was… hard to initially describe, but Davepeta found themselves both liking and hating this type of Strider. They were more open with each other, and they mostly lacked the regular shades that they themselves were wearing atop their hornless head- granted it was orange now but still._

_Davepeta took in a deep breath, closing their eyes and shook their head. They captchalogued their blanket, stretching their wings and jumping off the satellite and taking to the skies. Unknown to them, one Derrick Strider managed to spot their glowing wings out the window, his grip on his brother tightened and his heart quickened._

_His angel had been looking after him after all._

* * *

Deilos opened their eyes, olive and orange orbs blinking and glowing slightly in the darkness of… the morning if they were correct. They… _She_ , let out a yawn, about to sit up when she noticed a smaller torso tucked against her side and underneath her arm she distinctively remembered _was not_ there last night.

She smiled, huffing in amusement as she lifted a wing to see Dave curled against her side, back facing her. Sneaky little kitten, she was so proud. She hadn’t even woken up when he lifted her wing to crawl into her bed nest anymore, ah, they grow up so fast.

Still, she needed to get up and it was _way_ too early for Dave to be awake just yet.

She retracted her wings, a familiar shiver creeping across her spine as she did so. Feathers going through cloth and merging into skin, turning into colorful ink- or at least she thought it was ink, Mallek described it as ink, bright orange and green painted her back in a mural of her wings. It was a beautiful picture, not as beautiful as her actual wings but she had to admit, the fact they turned into tattoos was pretty cool.

After that, she silently crept out of bed, tucking Dave underneath her paw print blanket, making sure he was comfortable before quietly padding out of the room. Even after all these years, her stealth skills were still at their peak.

The darkness of the apartment didn’t bother her one bit as she walked in silence, the sun wouldn’t even rise for a couple of more hours. It was just one of those mornings where she would wake up so early- well, at least it gave her time to stretch, exercise, bathe and make breakfast.

Which is exactly what she did for the next three or so hours. Stretching for a solid thirty minutes, shadow boxing and fighting on the roof of the building for an hour and a half and returning into the apartment for a well-deserved bath.

Over the decade she didn’t really let up her exercising, keeping in shape and making sure that she could take down anyone that tried to mess with her or Dave in a bad physical sense. Though she did stop the first few years, taking care of one baby Dave had been hard work. So many sleepless night.

And speaking of Dave, he was one hell of an ass kicker now. Deilos had trained him enough that he could defend himself without much problem.

The Dave part of him, the one she had come to terms with oh so long ago, was admittedly slightly jealous of… Dave.

Her Dave didn’t have to worry about sudden ambushes, not really, sure they’d have a surprise spar from time to time but there were no demands for strife. No notes pinned _anywhere_ by some throwing star, knife, or any sharp object. He didn’t have to skirt around their relative, always on guard and sporting some ironic facade even when his body _ached_ and it was hard to _move with the bruises and_ _cuts_ -

…

No sudden strifes, no smuppets laying around everywhere or Lil’ Cal watching _his ev_ _ery movement_.

…

Deilos shook her head, taking in a deep breath underneath the hot spray of the shower. That was the past, they had _come to terms with it_. Bro was… intense and yes, even abusive, in his training. Deilos had no idea how much of that came from Lil Cal or not but the point was- Dave didn’t have _his_ childhood. Dave’s childhood, the Dave that made up half of her being.

To be honest, she had been scared that she’d fuck up somehow but thanks to the Nepeta part of her and some outside help, she managed to balance out pretty well in raising Dave and training him, she liked to think she did a great job. Not perfect, but Dave was a great kid. She was _her_ kid, _her_ chick, _her_ kitten. Hers.

Though, she still felt traces of guilt, of when she pretty much _stole_ him from that hospital just as she saved him. Accidentally faking his death as the building exploded and turned to ash. Dave’s mother, his _biological_ one, Roxanne Lalonde and ex-Strider, she had seemed so distraught and upset. But over the years, she’s heard that Roxanne was doing fine. Didn’t stop the occasional guilt that would come from time to time.

One day, she’d let them meet. Dave and his actual family- it actually depended on the kid himself, he knew that they weren’t blood related, she never hid that fact from him and she even answered all his questions. She didn’t keep much from Dave, aside from where she came from, that would… she’d tell him when he was older, maybe when he turned thirteen. Which would be next year. Dave would turn twelve this year and they were both looking forward to that. Just six more months to go.

Unknown to her, it was going to be slightly hectic these six months starting tomorrow.

* * *

\-- violentThrasher [VT] began pestering combinedTails [CT] at [6:45 AM] --

VT: i can’t believe you and nikhee bench pressed WITHOUT ME

CT: B33 < h3333y konyyl  
CT: B33 < to be fair, you were out of town fur a few days  
CT: B33 < *deilos also point out that technikitty she already bench pressed with konyyl which purrty much started it all*

VT: i fucking know but fucking still  
VT: i was the one who bench pressed YOU  
VT: i didnt actually fucking think you could bench press ME  
VT: thats it  
VT: when i get back we are going on a fucking bench pressing BONANZA  
VT: THE THREE OF US  
VT: LIFTING EACH OF US IN ANY FUCKING COMBINATION WE WANT

CT: B33 < that sounds  
CT: X33 > fucking pawsome  
CT: B]] < count me in *deilos purrs, fucking excited as SHIT to do this*

VT: yessssssss  
VT: fuck yeah

CT: BPP < oh yeah by the way we’re leaving dave out of this until we’re sure its safe for him to join  
CT: B// < already b33n risky the first two times  
CT: B33 < granted we succ33ded in doing the shit but still, next time we got thr33 hella swole meowtherfurckers bench pressing each other  
CT: BPP < not letting my kitten get hurt from it if it’ll hurt him  
CT: BPP < obviously

VT: fair  
VT: but man im fucking HYPED UP  
VT: i need to go on a run  
VT: gotta let the work off the hype till i get back  
VT: later deilos, say hi to the champ for me

CT: B33 < y333p  
CT: B33 < later kon *says the most pawsome mom/dad/parent ever*

\-- violentThrasher [VT] ceased pestering combinedTails [CT] at [6:51 AM] --

* * *

Dave woke up to a purring chest and a pair of strong arms lifting him from the bed, the eleven year old boy yawned, not really protesting to how he woke up. “’Mornin’ Mom.” He mumbled tiredly, stretching slightly in Deilos’ grip.

“Morning kitten.” Dave smiled slightly when Deilos didn’t correct him, it was ‘Mom’ day today. Good to know.

Deilos pressed her lips against Dave’s temple, kissing his forehead before setting him down on the chair before the table, “Breakfast.” She declared, looking amused and happy as Dave rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and focused on the waffles that were on a plate before him, he perked even more at the sight of the glass of apple juice.

As Dave ate, Deilos hummed, cleaning the waffle iron and the other utensils she had used to make breakfast for the both of them though she had already ate before Dave, right after she had showered and snuck back into her room for clothes. She had forgotten that she had temporarily given Dave her sylladex.That reminded her…

“Dave, hand me back my sylladex would you?” Deilos asked, wiping her hands dry with a towel.

Dave blinked and sighed, “I was hoping you’d forget. I wanted to use it on the trip, stash any shit I find on it into it.” He complained but nonetheless detached himself from the reality-affecting storage system that his mother apparently owned and regularly used. It was one of the coolest shit he had ever seen, and Mallek obviously thought the same, trying to recreate it on his own. Spent _years_ in trying to successfully replicate the thing, with his mom’s help obviously. With that done, Mallek would now work on the Strife Deck.

Deilos snorted, “Tempting as it is to let you use my ‘dex as a way to store the carcass of prey you find on your trip, I’m not letting you use it in public- ‘sides, Mallek is refining his prototype, you’ll get your own sylladex soon enough kitty.” She said, going over to ruffle his hair just and take back the sylladex card, blinking twice and getting used to having her sylladex back, the cards floating in her peripheral vision.

She snorted again as she spots the obvious things that Dave had captchalouged in her inventory, “I knoow but it won’t be done in a while and I know you won’t let me use it until you’re sure I’d use it ‘responsibly’.” Dave whined, pouting as Deilos took out the things that he had stashed in the cards yesterday.

“Obviously.” Deilos replied, bending down to kiss the blond’s forehead, “Now finish your breakfast and take a bath.”

Deilos hummed, shuffling through her sylladex cards.

Sylladex.

It was so strange to her that the fact that sylladexes were, non-existent in this universe. Though it made sense, it didn’t seem that SkaiaNet didn’t exist in this universe, no game-tech to reverse engineer or look at, none whatsoever… well, with the exception of the tech that _she_ had. Her sylladex was a mount of technological evolution- or so Mallek would say, and _had_ said, ranted even to her as he tried to replicate her sylladex. Which he _finally_ did, after like a couple of years of work which was impressive but then again Mallek was a genius.

All he had to do now was replicate Strife Decks.

Speaking of Mallek…

* * *

\-- snakeBytes [SB] began pestering combinedTails [CT] at [7:34 AM] --

SB: dee;  
SB: dee;  
SB: dee;

\-- combinedTails [CT] is idle!-

SB: dee;  
SB: dee;  
SB: i know you’re awake dee it’s lil’ dee’s trip day thing and there = no way you’re going to sleep in;  
SB: dee;  
SB: dee;  
SB: i can do this all morning;  
SB: dee;  
SB: dee;

\-- combinedTails [CT] is online! --

CT: B33 < jegus christ mallek chill the furrick down

SB: such fucking language;

CT: B33 < *the great huntress snorts*  
CT: B33 < anyway, sup dude

SB: sup;  
SB: okay straight to the point;  
SB: i’ve already made the basic plans for the strife deck and cards;

CT: B?? < already??  
CT: B33 < you *just* finished the purrototype on the sylladex

SB: ye;  
SB: and now that that’s done i can basically use the sylladex as a stepping stone for the strife deck;  
SB: it’s as easy as that;

CT: BPP < yeah okay  
CT: BPP < seems like a stretch  
CT: BPP < but okay

SB: fuck off;

CT: B33 < no really who am i to judge? you’re the genius here mal  
CT: B33 < the genius billionaire mewtherfucker  
CT: B33 < real life tony stark

SB: you’ve mentioned him before;  
SB: who’s tony stark again?;

CT: B// < oh right marvel doesn’t exist here

SB: ???;

CT: BPP < correction then  
CT: B33 < real life bruce wayne  
CT: B33 < (tho srsly tony stark would suite you so much better)

SB: ah;  
SB: kind of i guess;  
SB: i’m not some brooding son of a bitch dressing up as a bat and beating the shit out of criminals in my city;  
SB: i’m just an inventor, programmer and rich son of a fuck that just ‘technically invented’ a real life hammer space;

CT: B33 < (like i said, tony stark)  
CT: B33 < mhmm

SB: you sure i can take this shit to the public;  
SB: != it some sort of secret kind of shit for you;

CT: BPP < go right ahead dude  
CT: BPP < just be sure to up my paycheck for that  
CT: B33 < and to give a furrking warning the next time you’re going out to some soirée  
CT: BPP < last time i almost couldn’t make it

SB: duly noted;  
SB: i’ll be sure to let you know if i’m going anywhere important and public or whatever;  
SB: best bodyguard 11/10;

CT: B]] < damn the fuck right i am

* * *

Waking up in the Strilonde family house was always, or usually, was a pleasant thing.

Derrick had his very own room within the house, just for him. Despite the fact he didn’t permanently reside in the house, his brother, the sentimental idiot, made sure he had a place in the house nonetheless. For as cool and stoic David liked to portray himself to be, he was goddamn sentimental.

How he hadn’t notice before he didn’t know.

…

Actually he did, he’d been too blinded by his own woes and self-hatred to notice the fact his brother wasn’t some stoic god that felt disappointed with him. He was one of the most caring brothers he knew, even though David hadn’t really known how to display or show it to Derrick when they were younger. But at least he tried.

It was better between them now, a better relationship after… _that_ incident.

* * *

_Derrick was stunned, his cheek ached, his face had whipped to the side from the force of David’s punch._

“ _You_ idiot _.” David said, voice, for once, out of control, it was shaky and had emotions packed tightly into every syllable._

_Derrick looked back to him, orange eyes wide as he sees teary red eyes._

“What the fuck were you thinking?! _”_

* * *

Yeah. Everything went better after that incident.

Derrick yawned, stretching lightly as he kicked the covers off of him. Tiredly running a hand through his messy bed hair. He sat up, stretching lightly as he did so.

Despite the fact he was in another house and not in his apartment, he went to do his morning routine- which was slightly different since he was of course in his brother’s house. Things always went differently when it came to his brother’s house. Unlike the calm and quiet of his own apartment, with the exceptions when Derrick blared music or some other shit in his rooms, David’s house was a whole other thing. With about _six_ other people in the house, it wasn’t really a quiet place.

Not that he minded.

Already as Derrick headed towards the kitchen, he could hear someone in the kitchen. And that someone was Roxanne.

“Morn’ Rox.” Derrick rumbled, tiredly rubbing his eyes and yawning into his palm once more. Greeting his ex-sister-in-law, though he still considered her as his sister since they were close.

Roxanne smiled at him in greeting, “Hey Der.” She replied, smiling in amusement as she watched him amble over to the coffee machine. He really wanted a cup this morning.

It was a nice moment of comfortable silence between them, it was early so of course it was silent. But soon enough, both David and Rosaline would awake, then came the kids.

And like always, thinking of the kids made Derrick think of Dave.

He didn’t know why he was so hung up on the kid’s death, or maybe he did, either way, the thought of Dave and the fact that Rose had to grow up without her twin was… sobering.

“Stop.”

The younger Strider blinked in surprise when Roxanne spoke, a look of grim and sad understanding on her face. “I know what you’re thinking Derrick, it’s best not to think of it. Please, not now at least. It’s too early to think of him.” She murmured, sighing as her hands clenched around the mug she was holding.

Derrick instantly felt guilty, “Sorry Rox, couldn’t help it.” He apologized, steeling his face and focusing on his coffee mug. Dave may have been his nephew, but he was Roxanne’s _son_. She had lost him that day at the hospital. She and David.

“It’s okay.” Roxanne smiled, forgiving and all but still sad and grim.

They stewed in a ruined kind of silence, slowly mending itself but then it instantly went away when both Rosaline and David came into the kitchen, both having just woke up and both desperately needing some coffee. Both Roxanne and Derrick laughed slightly as they watched their siblings stumbling into the kitchen and towards their coffee machine.

“Mornin’ bro, Rosie.”

“Good morning sis, Davey.”

They shared a snort at their similar greetings towards their siblings who didn’t seem to see them just yet, their focus entirely on the coffee that they needed to jump start the day.

“So what’s on our agenda today? Got anything planned for today bro?” Derrick asked a few minutes later, the four adults situated and sitting at the kitchen table as they enjoyed their coffee. “Also who’s making breakfast today?”

David, Rosaline and Roxanne shared a contemplating look before Rosaline shrugged, “I believe it’s my turn to make breakfast today. I’ll get to it shortly after my coffee.” She said in the end, much to the satisfaction and content to her husband and sister. “As for our agenda… Hm, actually I am not aware if we have anything planned today.” Rosaline admitted, looking thoughtful.

The elder Strider nodded in agreement, “Yeah, guess we were all busy to think of what to do today.” David said, yawning again for a bit before shaking his head and scratching his stubbled face. He needed to shave today. Even though he could rock a wicked beard or something, David was more content with his smooth and chiseled jaw.

Roxanne hummed, “How about we go to the park today? It’s been a while since we spent some time there, I think today’s weather will be perfect picnic weather!” She declared with a grin, looking excited to spend some time with her family at the park. It had been busy at work lately, a relaxing time with them was really what she needed. What they all needed.

“Sounds like a good idea, let’s go to the park later for lunch.” Derrick decided, smiling with his brother and in-law-sisters.

They’d have some fun in the park.

And one hell of a surprise.

* * *

\-- turntechGodhead [TG] began pestering honktassButtnutt [HB] at [9:35 AM] --

TG: kaaaar  
TG: duuude

HB: hooooooooooooonk

TG: duuuuuuuude

HB: HOOOOOONK

TG: duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuude

HB: HoOoOoOoOoOoOOoOOOoooOoOooonk

TG: you ready for today?

HB: :o]

TG: fucking awesome yeah  
TG: cant wait to see ya at the park with wanshi

HB: Honk!

TG: goofy ass mother fucker

HB: momma’s boy

TG: hey  
TG: my moms awesome and you fucking know it

HB: honk

TG: damn right  
TG: anyway later dude  
TG: see ya at the park

HB: Honk!

\-- honktassButtnutt [HB] ceased pestering turntechGodhead [TG] at [9:43 AM] --

* * *

“Deilos!”

Deilos gave an amused smile as she and Dave arrived at the building. Bronya, Lanque and Lynera awaiting at the entrance with the others. The van ready behind them. “Dave!” Wanshi and Karako shouted, running up to greet Dave who grinned by Deilos’ side.

Deilos let Dave get dragged to the group, following at her own pace to meet with her fellow adults. “Sup Bronya, Lanque, Lynera.” She greeted, giving them a two-fingered salutes as she stopped by the van.

“Hello Deilos, it’s nice to see that you’re on time.” Bronya Ursama said with a welcoming smile, she was around Deilos’ age and was going to be the next head caretaker at the orphanage that she ran that doubled as a day care and school for young kids. Lanque and Lynera worked the same job as her, or rather underneath her since Bronya was mostly the leader among caretakers of her age group.

Dave came to the school sometimes but was mostly homeschooled by Deilos, though she had given him the choice of going to school or not, Dave decided to stay homeschooled but would come to the school’s classes from time to time if only to hang out with his friends. Or whenever Deilos was too busy to look after him so she would drop him off there to be looked over.

Bronya didn’t really approve but there wasn’t much that she could do since Dave was _her_ kid, and Deilos herself wasn’t a bad parent, in fact she was great- though unusual what with her mysterious and well paying job and the fact that she was a gender fluid person. Not that she had any problems against it, as long as Deilos kept Dave happy and safe then she was okay in her book.

Lynera rolled her eyes but had a small and almost unnoticeable small smile on her face. “If you were just a minute late, we could have left without you. But that would be unfair to Dave.” She said with a mock huff causing Deilos to grin at her, knowing that she wasn’t really meaning anything.

In the beginning Lynera had been extremely suspicious and borderline hateful with Deilos, but over the years that they had known each other she had softened up and was close enough to call Deilos a good friend. Though mostly it was because she had thought Deilos was after Bronya in a romantic sense, when she found out that Deilos wasn’t interested in her that way it was easier for them to bond afterwards.

“And it’d be unfair to leave such beauty behind~ Or is it handsomeness? Which is it today sweetcheeks?” Lanque flirted, wiggling his eyebrows at Deilos with a smirk. Something that Deilos that returned with ease though they didn’t really mean it- at least Deilos didn’t and made it quite clear to Lanque. Deilos was content with being single, she hasnt’ met anyone that managed to get her interest that way. Plus, with her own history of romance? She was really content with being single for a decade.

Lanque was one of the most flirtatious people that Deilos had ever met, and at first it had reminded her of a certain violetblooded asshole but Lanque had been different and was human. Sometimes though Deilos had no idea if Lanque was serious with his flirting or not, it seemed like it was serious from time to time and then it wasn’t. It confused her but she chose not to think about it. It was just easier that way.

“It’s beauty today, mama cat’s all on board for the trip.”

Meanwhile with the kids, Karako, face paint and all, was all over Dave.

Almost literally having jumped on the taller eleven year old with a wild laugh. He was a wild child, smiling and grinning near all the time and also rarely talked.

Wanshi on the other hand was spouting out her excitement and bouncing around Dave like the energetic little girl that she was. Dave took it all in stride, thanks to his mother’s training he could effortlessly keep Karako on his eleven year old body without any problem.

“Hey.” “Dave.”

Dave blinked, craning his head back to see the Soleil twins along with Tirona, Dieman and Vikare.

“Sup nerds.” He greeted, grinning at them all while trying to finally get Karako off of him much to the smaller boy’s disappointment. Wanshi had finally stopped hopping around like a rabbit to settle by Dave’s side.

Everyone chatted for a few more minutes before Bronya decided it was time to go, “Everyone ready?” She called out, counting heads and recounting them a couple more times just to make sure, not wanting to leave anyone behind.

“Ready!” The children chimed, holding on to their backpacks before they were escorted into the big van, each of them settling into their shared seats.

Deilos sat at the back with Lanque, Dave and the kids while Bronya took the driver’s seat and Lynera took the front with her.

“Time to go!”

And with that, their trip to the next city was on route.

* * *

Lavender colored eyes met with red, two eleven year olds blinking incredulously as one stood before the bush and the other, inside the bush.

“Rose? Rose where are you?”

Without looking away from the familiar-looking blond boy in front of her, she called back to her mother, “I’m over here mother!”

She could hear the footsteps of her mother as well as the others, “Rose, how many times do we have to tell you, don’t wander off… on… your own?” Her father said, his words trailing off and ending up in a question with a hint of disbelief as they saw the blond boy as well.

“Dave!”

A small girl with green eyes popped up from a neighboring bush, looking at the blond boy with red eyes. “There you are Dave!” She said with obvious relief before noticing the blond group before them, squeaking in surprise. “Uh… hi?”

There was an air of tense disbelief and silence before it was broken when a woman with pink eyes took a shaky step forward, red eyes snapping away from Rose to look at her instead.

“Dave? Is that really you baby?”

Dave himself was still stunned to silence before he blurted out, “So you’re my biological mom?”

Things went downhill from there.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There! We got things done! 
> 
> The Strilondes will soon come into contact with Deilos themselves! Though it'll be a rough contact at first since we've got the Strilondes thinking that Dave had DIED a decade ago only to find him alive and being raised by some, stranger they didn't know? 
> 
> It's going to be complicated family stuff first. 
> 
> But anyway I hope you enjoyed! Thank's for all the support, I'll see you guys later!


	3. Picnic Days

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NEW CHAPTER IS OUT AND MORE INFO IN THE NOTES BELOW :DD

* * *

_Davepeta had no idea why he did that. Why did he-- they-- when did **they** turn into **he**? His-their, pronouns- It was--_

_“Waaaa! WAAAAA!”_

_Davepeta cursed softly before rocking the small body wrapped in a soot-covered blanket, “Heey, shhh. It’s gonna be alright, ssh..” they soothed, though suddenly a noise escaped his throat, an unholy mix of their previous peeps and chirps from when they were Davesprite as well as Nepetasprite’s troll purring. Briefly they were mortified before they noticed the fact the baby in tbeir arms calmed down and was now cooing at them, appeased by the chirp/purring and reaching out to them with his chubby baby arms. It was surprisingly cute, and heartwarming but they digressed-_

_I n his arms was one baby Dave Strider. This universe’s Dave Strider, only a small chubby baby._

_Davepeta had just kidnapped Dave Strider from his family._

_Well- he saved Dave then kidnapped him._

_It was complicated._

_Davepeta had been so damn curious about the new universe they had somehow stumbled into, all they could remember before was trying to face Lord English and before they knew it- BAM, they were back on Earth and… The whole thing with B- with Derrick happened._

_After that, they spent days finding out more about the new universe that they were in, it had been more than a month now and what they had found out was pretty interesting._

_It was almost like the Alpha timeline universe, or rather the ‘Post-Scratch’ Universe, only both iterations of adults were there. ‘Alpha’ ‘Beta’ versions existed… in a way that was not entirely unexpected but also still unexpected._

_David Strider, ‘Alpha’ Dave, was married._

_To Roxanne Lalonde. ‘Beta’ Roxy._

_Roxanne and Rosaline, ‘Alpha’ Rose, were twin sisters who were born only minutes apart. Roxanne was the younger sister while Rosaline was the older one so they were the same age. David himself was only half a year older than them. David was twenty-seven when he married Roxanne, he was twenty-eight now and Roxanne was twenty five years old alongside Rosaline._

_Derrick on the other hand, was nineteen years old, only a couple of years older than Davepeta themselves. There was a nine year gap between David and Derrick, it was strange to find that out since the Lalondes were twins and they were not._

_But anyway, David was married to Roxanne, making her Roxanne Strider._

_It was strange to think that an alternate version of a part of themselves was married, much less married to someone who was in a sense a part of their literal mother._

_Gotta love Paradox Space, Alternate Timelines and the Multiverse._

_Thinking about that subject would usually give them a headache so they tried not to think about it too much or too often._

_Back to the point! David was married to Roxanne._

_Roxanne was pregnant._

_With twins._

_Davepeta was willing to bet everything on them as well as their life that the twins that Roxanne were carrying were either ‘Dave and Rose’, ‘Dave and Dirk’, ‘Rose and Roxy’, ‘Roxy and Dirk’, ‘Roxy and Dave’ or even ‘Dirk and Rose’. It was one of those combinations because the universe was just like that._

_Davepeta had spent a lot of time observing the Strider-Lalonde family over the course of the month, which, by all means could actually be referred to as ‘stalking’ but hey, they were curious. And careful. They made sure not to be seen by anyone, especially the Strilonde family. Though unknown to them, the family would sometimes catch strange glimpses of them, the others dismissed it as something from their imagination, one Strider however always thought otherwise whenever he saw something strange in the night, like bright wings flapping in the air and into the clouds._

_It was strange._

_Watching a version of their family- partial family anyway, like this. Seeing things so… normal._

_Or as normal as a Strilonde family could get._

_It… He couldn’t explain what it meant to him, to see it so normal like this. To see his brother, brothers? Act like semi-normal humans. There were no smuppets. No puppets. No dolls. No swords. No…_

_Their mind had been slipping into a Dave-like state, that needed to stop. For now at least. Over the month, they had sorted themselves out, deciding what to do and what their mind was like. It was strange to be two people at once, one was a fucked up boy that had grown up too fast and the other was a kind but ferocious alien girl who had died too young._

_But they were happy like this._

_Being combined to be them, Davepeta. It was, nice._

_But they would have to try to find a way back, Lord English was still at hand and there was ARquius… Their heart ached at the thought of their brorail. But then again, he had mysteriously disappeared after Davepeta went off to face Lord English. They hoped he was okay._

_F inding a way back to their universe wouldn’t be easy, they hadn’t even known how they had gotten into this universe in the first place. But for now, ~~stalking~~ observing the Strilonde family would be a good side hobby. _

_T hat is…_

_Until **it** happened._

_Now, in this new universe, Davepeta was more human like. Their skin had stopped flashing like an crazy strobe light in the 90’s that could only flash light green and bright orange. Their horns had disappeared along with the the feathery ruffles that had been on their face and neck back when they were a sprite, inherited from Davesprite’s feathery plumage. The only thing unnatural about them were their wings and certain… other parts that could easily be hidden and kept quiet._

_Their wings had been a hassle to deal with in the new world._

_They couldn’t be seen unless they wanted to be hunted down and experimented on._

_Luckily, it seems like they managed to be able to deal with that._

_With concentration, and maybe some weird leftover sprite powers? They could retract their wings into the back, leaving an awesome tattoo on their skin._

_Boom._

_Normal human in disguise~_

_Somewhat._

_They had to steal a few clothes since their original clothes, a dersite dress with a modified symbol and a trenchcoat was quite eye-catching. Stealing was actually quite easy to do, with the fact that sylladexes didn’t seem to exist in this world._

_Anything pertaining to Sburb and it’s mechanics… didn’t seem to exist. Sylladex? Nope. Strife decks and cards? Never heard of them. Boondollars? What? Echeladders? Was that a new brand of ladder?_

_Nothing game-like existed._

_Only them._

_Bizarre._

_At any rate, they had to steal some clothing to blend in, a nice warm and fluffy hoodie, a scarf and some camo pants served as today’s clothing, keeping the hood up and making sure their shades hid their ridiculous heterochromic paired eyes. Even though a month had passed, their eyes, like their wings, had stayed the same. That being utterly impossible, colored orange and light green, switching to either color with each blink- yeah, they were glad that they were used to wearing shades twenty-four seven or else their impossible and unnatural eyes would garner the attention of everyone around them._

_Plus, the shades acted like good buffers for them. Their eyesight was more perfect, combining the peripheral vision of a boy’s crow enhanced eyesight plus the night vision of a cat-like troll? Honestly, not wearing their shades and looking at things gave them a headache sometimes with how perfect their eyesight was._

_Sunny days were a pain for their eyes, too bright, their sensitivity to light had both heightened and lowered. It all depended really. At any case. Davepeta was very glad for their shades._

_It let them blend into the crowd with their new clothes._

_Today, they had followed the Strilonde family into a certain hospital._

_Roxanne had gone into labor, the twins were being born today._

_Davepeta watched from afar, in the shadows, watching with fascination as the family went through a normal family birthing. No ecto-slime involved whatsoever. Seeing David panic was so surreal, and almost uncool but for some reason Davepeta could understand that- his kids were about to be born today._

_Though seeing Derrick try to calm him and not panic himself was… even more surreal._

_Derrick was not Bro._

_Derrick was kind of like Dirk but not as well._

_He was an anomaly that Davepeta was not familiar with at all._

_He was different._

_And yet so the same._

_The incident earlier that month where he tried to commit suicide had definitely stressed the Strilondes, Roxanne had almost gone into an early labor because of that. Thankfully she was fine. She relied on her elder sister and husband to berate the younger Strider for his foolishness- Davepeta had cracked a smile at that, ‘no one would care’ their ass. Derrick had a loving family, a dysfunctional family but one that loved him nonetheless._

_They were glad that Derrick managed to sort everything out with the Strilondes. And that the Strilondes were so accepting and caring of him. Davepeta wouldn’t really know how to deal with if they had been wrong._

_Watching Derrick, David and Rosaline interacting as they anxiously waited for Roxanne and the twins. It took hours, long grueling hours that had even Davepeta on edge- they weren’t even involved! Kind of._

_At any rate, it was a successful birth and on that day, Dave and Rose Strider were born. Dave having been born on December 3 rd  , just minutes before midnight and Rose having been born on December 4  th  , just a few minutes after midnight. A solid ten minute gap between them. Dave was the older twin- hah! Suck it Rose!_

_Davepeta’s awe to seeing baby Dave and Rose was phenomenal- they had seen them later on, after the nurse had taken both babies away towards the hospital cribs within the hospital’s nursery where they would have to stay for twenty-four to forty-eight hours- something Davepeta learned while eavesdropping._

_Looking through the glass trying to find both baby Dave and Rose was fun, seeing them both- well, it was nice to see Rose again, even as a baby. Baby Dave was quite adorable as well._

_Davepeta smiled, they didn’t stay long though. They never could, they didn’t really belong in the hospital, they didn’t need anyone to escort them out for suspiciously loitering around the place. That and again, they didn’t want to be found by the Strilondes._

_So they left to rest, it been a long night, they would come back to watch the Strilondes take their new family away back to their home. The thought was heartwarming… and for some reason, it caused an empty ache in their heart._

_No matter._

_Davepeta left to come back later._

_And come back later they did-_

_They came back when everyone was being evacuated from a burning hospital._

_How it happened- they didn’t know._

_But from the sidelines they watched with wide eyes horrified eyes as the building burned in front of them._

_“ **NO!!** ” They were jolted out of their shock by a woman’s shriek, a familiar woman’s voice, "Dave! Dave- my **baby's still in there!** ” Roxanne screamed as she fought against the firefighters that were holding her though the firefighters were trying not to deal with her too hard since she was holding baby Rose in her hands, it looked like that Derrick, David and Rosaline had just arrived by then, having went home briefly for whatever reason but Roxanne’s words registered in Davepeta’s mind with horror, filling their very being- it was soon replaced with grim determination. _

_Without any hesitance, he broke through the safety barrier that had been sent, dodging anyone that tried to stop and and ran into the flames- much to the protest of many people around him. He ran into the flames, with one goal in mind- but on the way, he helped some other people find their way out- using his powerful claws to make way along with their strength- they were as strong as Equius but she had hunted much bigger prey that weighed tons and tons, he had been capable of slicing through stone -_

_On the way towards the nursery, he had helped a few others, including a certain teen with blue eyes and a lot of piercings- he remembered him because he had sliced open the door so the pierced teen could escape with an injured person. After that, it was straight towards the nursery where nurses were trying to open- how had it gotten lock ed? It didn’t matter, Davepeta was pushing the nurses aside, the smoke and smog thick in the air as the flames grew and grew- it’s source unknown but it was definitely not a normal fire._

_The nursery was locked and somewhat safe, none of the smoke seemed to have gotten to the babies inside. Yet. It would be a smoking oven if left alone, which is something Davepeta would not allow. He sliced open the door, breaking into the room, hissing at the nurses to take the remaining babies within the room and run, though he was looking for a specific baby._

_He was the last to leave the room, clutching a crying baby Dave in his arms as he tried to follow the nurses to escape- but the fire had grown too much. Too out of control. The building was falling apart and Davepeta was forcefully separated from the nurses, his only way out- was to fly._

_Explosions wrecked havoc in the hospital- **just what was happening** \- and Davepeta struggled to make sure Dave was alright. He managed to get to a window- high up in the sky- outside, it had started to rain, thunder and lightning beginning to show as the flames of the hospital grew brighter and brighter despite the water that came to try and douse it. _

_Davepeta made it out, shielding baby Dave from the weather by wrapping his trench coat around the babe before he leaped off the window rail, flying into the sky-_

_Thanks to the smoke and the dark sky, Davepeta was fairly sure he was mostly unseen, and even then he’d make sure he’d land somewhere discreet and run towards his current shelter._

_Which was what he exactly did._

_And that was how he- they ended up with baby Dave Strider in their hands in their little shelter._

_An abandoned apartment building that Davepeta was temporarily using._

_Davepeta should have backpedaled and gave the baby to one of the nurses back at the hospital after he had landed, after they had landed- what was- huh, they- he? Had thought he had been nonbinary ever since the merge but now… Maybe he was genderfluid? It would make sense…_

_Not important! Not right now at least-_

_Right now, he had baby Dave in his arms, baby Dave that had been crying but had stopped because he had peeped, chirped and purred at him and apparently he had liked it? Babies. But, now that he had stopped crying Davepeta could now think of what to do._

_He should return baby Dave._

_He should head straight back towards the hospital, give baby Dave back towards Roxanne- no that would mean facing Roxanne and the rest of the Strilonde famile. He should hand it to a nurse- he’d get reported probably though. Maybe he should just leave the baby at the Strilonde doorstep? Leave an anonymous note…_

_Davepeta let out a frustrated noise and stopped rocking his arms, looking down to baby Dave. “What the fuck am I suppose to do with you.” He whispered to himself, looking and feeling conflicted as he looked into the baby’s eyes- when had they opened? The inhuman person was entranced at the small red eyes that briefly appeared, reaching out to poke at the baby’s chubby cheek with a small giggle only to gasp softly when baby Dave grasped her finger- her? He, she thought she was a he, Jegus- it looked ridiculous. And adorable. Seeing baby Dave’s chubby baby fingers holding her single and much larger finger._

_Something gripped her heart._

_Instincts she never had thought she had before began to roar at her as she truly looked down at the baby in her arms. He was so small, so soft, so squishy. He was also dirty, she needed to wash him, get him into something warmer- damn, she didn’t have any baby clothes, why would she? She’d have to steal some. And some milk and baby food, and baby diapers, and--_

_That’s how Davepeta, later renamed Deilos, found herself spiraling down the path of being a parent. To one Dave Strider nonetheless._

_While Davepeta gained a son, Roxanne and David Strider lost a son. Rosaline and Derrick lost a nephew._

* * *

Deilos watched with a content smile on her face as she watched Dave and the other children spill out of the van and unto the park grounds, Dave leading both Wanshi and Karako away already, though it looked like the other children would be following them.

“Hey! No wandering off just yet!” Bronya shouted at them, stopping them from running off into the distance or into the nearby woods, with a disappointed groan, they returned to the four adults.

Deilos snorted, going over to ruffle Dave’s hair much to his protest, “Mom!” He said petulantly, definitely not whining at all. Or pouting for the matter of fact. Deilos chuckled, rolling her eyes underneath her shades and just ruffled Dave’s hair some more.

“Stooop!”

“Eager to stretch your paws and spread your wings huh?” Deilos mused, grinning down to Dave who huffed but grinned back up at her, nodding. “Just be careful kit, don’t do anything too reckless, first though, help set up our picnic spot then you and all the other cubs can go play.” She told him, picking him up and letting him sit on her bicep, easily keeping her hands up to let him sit on her.

Wanshi and Karako instantly wanted to be with Dave, meaning that they wanted to be picked up and carried around too.

“Oh! Oh! Deilos pick us up too!”

“!!!!”

Deilos merely laughed and crouched a bit to pick up Wanshi with her other arm and let Karako jump on her back, draping himself over her back like some sort of living cape. “Careful there Karako, don’t want you chocking me.” She warned the small child who let out a confirming noise, a child of few words. While she had disapproved the other’s interest in clowns- still reminds her too much about Gamzee- at least the child was innocent and besides, the kit was Dave’s friend and was quite adorable.

“Miss Deilos you’re soo coool!” Wanshi squealed as Deilos started to walk over to the others while carrying all three of the children on her like it was no problem. “So strong!” That made Deilos’ grin just grow as she made her way towards the picnic spot.

The other children clamored and cheered at the sight of Deilos, no doubt wanting their turn to be carried by the slender but very strong woman that was Deilos Sprite. The adults on the other hand watched with fond eyes and exasperated sighs, though that was only both Lynera and Bronya, Lanque was watching with very interest half-lidded eyes.

“I do not think I’ll ever get used to Deilos’ unnatural strength.” Lynera said dryly as she watched Deilos crouch to let the Soleil twins grab unto her hands and stand up, letting them swing from her arms with a laugh, essentially carrying five children now.

“You and me both Lye.” Bronya sighed, though she couldn’t help but smile as she watched the children laugh, only to boo at Deilos when she brought all five children back down so she could tell them to help them with their picnic. “Deilos is right! Picnic first, play after.” She instructed.

Lynera grinned, a little bit of heat behind his smile, “And to think, this isn’t her limit- I hear she managed to bench press not only Konyyl, but Nikhee as well!” He whispered to his fellow caretakers, it both surprised them and didn’t. Deilos was the strongest person that they knew, literally and figuratively.

“I didn’t bench press them together, though I did bench press them with Dave on top of them- Kon says she wants me to try lifting both her and Nikhee when she gets back from her trip.” Deilos informs them as she goes to their side, having heard them with her superior hearing.

The three merely accepted it without a word, before they would have questioned it but they were merely too used to Deilos managing to hear them without problem. They accepted a lot of questioning things from Deilos, it was better to just roll with it instead of questioning it since it would just end up giving them a headache, migraine or whatever else might happen if they keep asking Deilos about certain things. She was usually really tight-lipped about her personal information.

With four adults and eight children, their picnic spot was set up in no time. Afterwards, the food was prepared and eaten.

It was during this time that an anticipated event happened, something that always happened to Deilos and was infamous to those who knew her.

You see, for some odd reason that no one else but Deilos and Dave knew… Birds and cats were attracted and drawn to Deilos. Whenever Deilos was in the area and there were any stray crows or cats around, they would gradually find her, just like now.

The children giggled and laughed as a crow landed on Deilos’ head, cawing somewhat indignantly as Deilos waved it off her head but let it settled on her shoulder, from a nearby bush, two stray cats, thankfully they didn’t look too dirty or dangerous for the children. The two cats came in close proximity, purring as they went to curl up by Deilos’ side.

“I still believe you’re some nature spirit, I have _never_ seen anyone else getting the attention of crows and cats so easily. Are you a witch?” Tirona asked curiously, scooting closer to try and pet one of the cats, whenever cats were in Deilos’ vicinity, they were more domestic and less violent unless Deilos was annoyed.

Deilos snorted as she nudged the crow to hop unto Dave’s offered hand instead, the bird crooned, obviously recognizing Dave as Deilos’ charge and family since it had no qualms in moving from one perch to another. “I’m not a witch, I’d rather be a knight, or a rogue.” She joked, though only she would know the deeper layer behind that joke. “Magic isn’t my _fur_ te.” She punned smoothly, petting at one of the other cats, she honestly expected more cats around the park today, and birds. Oh well, maybe more would gather in time.

The adults exchanged exasperated looks, just another Deilos thing to accept. Though there was always more to it whenever Deilos attracted felines and avians.

Yeah even Deilos had no idea why she had a connection, it could take into the account of her origins but still, she kind of doubted that- they had been a _sprite_ , sprites didn’t attract animals… But sprites were attracted to animals, dead ones especially. It was complicated. And there hadn’t been any normal animals in the game so Deilos had no idea if this was a normal occurrence or not. At any rate though, it was mostly harmless, and she had dealt with it for near a decade now.

It was still a curious thing.

Lunch was spent with both children and adults petting either crow or cat while eating, it was a nice time. Eventually though, lunch had to end and the children were finally allowed to play.

Half of the children stayed to play with the animals, the other half, lead by Dave, went towards the woods.

“Be careful!” Bronya shouted after them.

“Have fun!” Deilos shouted after them.

They waved at them as they entered the woods, Deilos wondered what Dave would find and bring back.

She did _not_ expect him to find and bring back the whole goddamn Strilonde family.

So much for staying under the radar.

And hey, at least she had managed to raise Dave for more than a good decade. Best ten years she’s ever had in her life.

* * *

Unknown to Deilos’ and her group, a certain family had gone to the park as well, arriving at the other side of the park, on the other side of the forest right as Deilos and the others were setting up their picnic spot.

It was family day for the Strilonde family.

Derrick carrying all three of the kids with Dirk and Rose underneath his arm pits and by his side while Roxy sat on the throne of his shoulders- he was lucky he kept in very good shape and that he regularly handled heavy metal parts for his machinery and such. He barely felt the strain on him as he carried the kids over to where Rosaline was- she had apparently chosen the perfect picnic spot.

“Damn Der, you keeping to your routine?” Roxanne jokingly said as she followed the blond haired man to their picnic spot, her ex-husband behind her, helping her carry their things.

Derrick smirked smugly, “’Course I do, gotta be strong if I wanna deal with my nephew and nieces.” He joked back, jostling his nieces and nephews much to their delight, all three laughing as their uncle swung them around slightly. “I swear, they’re all getting heavier each time I visit. Soon enough they’ll be too fat for me to carry.”

“Uncle Derrick that’s mean! You can’t tell us we’ll be fat, especially me n’ Rosie! We’re girls! Never call a girl fat!” Roxy scolded him, bopping his head. Derrick blinked before bursting out into snickers, Roxanne cackling behind her as Rose nodded her head in a sage-like way- or maybe that’s what she thought it would be, she just looked like she was agreeing with her little sister.

“Damn straight! Listen to Roxy Der!”

Rosaline smiled and nodded her head to her daughter’s words, “It would be wise if you indeed heed my daughter’s wisdom. She is wise beyond her years.” She said with a small laugh as Derrick finally arrived to kneel and let all three kids off of him and back on the ground. Roxy sent her mom a bright and proud smile.

David snorted, shaking his head before speaking up, “Wise as she is, she’s not getting out on helping the picnic set up. C’mon kiddos.” Roxy pouted but nodded, it didn’t take too long to set up their picnic area, there were four adults and three clever and obedient kids. Family day was starting off in definitely a good way.

“..se I corrected her- she’s the teacher! She’s supposed to be the smart one!” Dirk finished his school story with a an adorable frown, “And she has the gall to call herself a teacher- can’t do an equation right.” He grumbled, biting into his sandwich afterwards.

Derrick chuckled, “Even adults make mistakes little man.” He pointed out, reaching over to ruffle Dirk’s hair much to his protest and whine. “Cut her some slack, at least she’s not some stuck up woman who’s so into her prideful butt she’d be willing to give you a detention just for correcting her.” Dirk looked vaguely horrified at the situation that Derrick described.

“That wouldn’t happened, would it?”

“It would, happened to your uncle.” David answered with a small snort, “Your uncle’s a cheeky man, also rude.”

Derrick merely flashed a winning smile at his older brother, “I’m only rude to most idiots, it’s part of my charming personality.” He said smoothly, winking at the females of their group. Rosaline and Rose rolled their eyes with fond smiles while Roxy and Roxanne giggled at his antics.

This was nice. A nice family picnic on a nice family day.

“I could understand in being rude to idiots, it’s like giving respect- which should be earned, not given.” Rose said thoughtfully after swallowing her sandwich, she smiled when her mother nodded.

“That’s right my little Rosie, but remember to be mostly polite to everyone you meet. Until you find out what kind of person they are and what their personality is like, be polite, then be rude.” Roxanne instructed, sipping her tea as her own older sister chuckled at her advice.

“A wonderful piece of advice, take note of it Dirk and Roxy.”

Lunch was quickly finished and David let the children go play near the small woods, though he instructed them not to enter them without either him or Derrick around. He was slightly paranoid about those woods, never know what you could find in them.

At any rate, it was play time for the children.

They let them play for an hour before calling them back, though, only Dirk and Roxy had come to the call.

Frowning, Roxanne looked for her daughter, her family following closely after her, just in case.

“Rose? Rose where are you?!” She called out for her daughter as she came closer to the forest, had she gone into it?

The answer came swiftly, “I’m over here mother!” Rose’s voice came in the direction of the forest, she was nearby, just behind one of the trees that stepped out in line of the forest. Like a checkpoint entrance for the woods. Roxanne sighed in relief, David sighing in relief with her before striding forward purposefully with a stern look on his face, fully intending to lightly berate Rose for wandering off- it was a habit that they should really curb.

“Rose, how many times do we have to tell you, don’t wander off… on… your own?”

His voice trails off and his eyes widen as he sees the sight before him.

He sees a smaller copy of himself, red eyes, blond hair and wearing a bright red shirt with a record on his chest. Instantly his heart constricts and disbelief colors his being, it goes for the same for his ex-wife who stares with wide pink eyes.

Before they could say anything further, a little dark-skinned girl with black hair and green eyes popped up from the bushes, beaming at the blond boy, “There you are Dave!” She said, and his heart constricts even further, he hears his brother whisper ‘Dave’? While his ex-wife takes a shaky step forward.

It was impossible.

It was improbable.

It was…

“Dave? Is that really you baby?” Roxanne asks shakily, eyes watering.

Dave.

The blond boy blurts out an unexpected answer that sets off alarms in all three adult’s heads.

“So you’re my biological mom?”

* * *

Dave had been looking through the forest for anything neat. You could always find something in the forest, it was one of the things his mother had taught him. In the various instances that they had camped together sometimes in some forest away from civilization but still nearby the city, she taught him how to move through the trees and how to sneak through foliage. He wasn’t an expert. He wasn’t like his mother who possessed an inhuman grace to her step, but it was enough most of the time.

Most of the time.

Dave had been leading both Karako and Wanshi into the forest to look for something nice, neat or cool. Like a pretty flower, or a shiny rock or something that Dave would have really liked; a dead animal carcass.

What? He liked morbid things, and being raised by his mother, animal carcasses didn’t bother him at all. He found them quite interesting actually. He already had a mouse carcass trapped in amber, and he and his mother had dissected squirrel corpse, the mouse skull was a cool table decoration on his desk in his room.

At any rate, Dave really wanted to find something in the forest.

He just didn’t expect to find his biological family after trying to find his shades from tripping on a rock, loosing his shades into the bushes. A strange feeling in his chest.

Rose on the other hand, had been content to read underneath the tree that was at the edge of the forest, waiting for picnic time to end so she and her family could return to their home. She loved family day, she loved her family but it was far too sunny for her today. Perfect day to be outside but she didn’t really like being outside, she’d prefer to be inside and reading her books.

But then, she felt something in her chest. Something warm, something.. like a piece of a puzzle had finally found its place, or she had found an unknown missing limb. Before she could even try to contemplate on the feeling itself, the bushes rustled, alerting her to the presence of something in it.

She stood up, clutching her book to her side as the feeling in her chest pulsed while the bushes kept rustling.

Then it stopped.

And a blond boy with red eyes popped up.

Dave had been looking through the bushes, he had found his shades but as he picked his shades up, the feeling in his chest pulsed and he looked out the bush to see an obscure figure outside the bush. So he stood up to take a closer and more direct look. It was a blond girl with lavender eyes.

Instantaneously, the feeling in their chests pulsed.

‘ _So this is my sister_.’ Dave thought to himself with wide red eyes, staring into familiar lavender eyes. Of course he knew who she was, his mother had showed him pictures of his biological family. She never hid anything from him, nothing severely important anyway. And anything she didn’t tell him was saved for when he turned thirteen.

He never imagined he would meet her or anyone else from his biological family before he was thirteen, or fifteen- he was entirely content to stay with his mom/dad/parent.

Just before he could say anything, in comes the rest of his family.

He sees his father David Strider, his mother Roxanne Lalonde. His technically other mother, Rosaline Strider. His half-siblings, Dirk and Roxy Strider and finally his uncle, Derrick Strider.

The same Derrick Strider his mother had saved form suicide. Yeah, she had told him about that. And boy was that something, it was nice to see that he was doing good. That they were all doing good. See, they were fine without him, he’d surely be able to stay with his mom.

Then Wanshi came and Dave temporarily became stupid when he blurted out his first sentence to his biological mother.

His mom was going to be so annoyed.

* * *

It was a tense atmosphere on a lovely picnic day.

And it started when Dave came back from the woods… with a familiar family coming after him, Wanshi and Karako. Well, mostly familiar to Deilos that is.

Deilos instantly stood when she saw Roxanne Lalonde, David, Rosaline and Derrick Strider coming through the trees with what seemed to be conflicted faces… and war faces. Her hackles rose slightly but she forced herself to calm down as they came closer. She gave the cat in her arms to Diemen, and gave her friends a reassuring smile when she saw how confused and tense they were at the strange incoming family.

Deilos stood with her head held high and her back straight. She walked with grace and purpose towards the Strilonde family, Dave, holding his twin sister’s hand and once again wearing his shades, watched with trepidation. Rose eyed Deilos with curiosity and suspicion, the same expression that was on every Strilonde at the moment.

“Hi mom.” Dave greeted her, behind him Roxanne twitched, “So uh, you know how you said I’d get to see my biological family?” Roxanne twitched again, this time David, Derrick and Rosaline twitching with her. “… Tada?”

Deilos took in a deep breath and smiled serenely, “Well this is a sur _purr_ ise... I wasn’t expecting for _this_ to happen today, or so soon.” Again with the twitching, Deilos wondered about that, “Don’t worry kitten, everything’s going to be alright.” She said, giving Dave a soothing smile that had Dave untensing and relaxing. She didn’t really notice the way Roxanne’s jaw clenched.

She looked up at them, an easy going smile on her face. “Hello, I’m Deilos Sprite, a pleasure to meet you.” She greeted with a nod, introductions were important, “This is Dave Sprite, my son-”

_**SMACK** _

A tense shocked silence as Roxanne’s hand hung in the air, a look of cold fury on her face. Deilos is blinks a bit- had she… Had she been _slapped_?

“MOM!”

She reached for her face, cupping her aching cheek, the fact that her shades had been knocked off were clear as well when the world around her was so bright but she focused back on reality as Dave shouted in concern, he wasn’t the only one, she could hear Bronya, Lynera and Lanque shouting her name.

Well…

She can’t say she _wasn’t_ expecting that.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so proud of myself for actually finishing a chapter today, ah. 
> 
> ALSO OOF! Roxanne used Slap! Deilos is stunned!  
> It's going to be a rocky start here between them, any idea why? But whoo! The Strilondes meet the Sprites! More things incoming in the next chapter. 
> 
> ALSO ALSO, there is a thing now! A server! Come join us!  
> [Pyros Hydros Stories](https://discord.gg/csq76jF)  
> I hope you guys enjoyed! Come join the server to talk or do more! It's been pretty fun in there I'm not going to lie! See you all either in the next chapter or in the server :D


	4. Confrontation (1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof! Chapter's finally here!
> 
> But, this chapter is more past-oriented, gives more insight on the past with baby Dave and Deilos!
> 
> At some point I should do a full arc on the past but right now I'm just shoving things in to create a bit more background for Deilos.
> 
> At any rate, I hope you enjoy!

* * *

_**SMACK** _

_A tense shocked silence as Roxanne’s hand hung in the air, a look of cold fury on her face. Deilos is blinks a bit- had she… Had she been_ slapped _?_

_“MOM!”_

_She reached for her face, cupping her aching cheek, the fact that her shades had been knocked off were clear as well when the world around her was so bright but she focused back on reality as Dave shouted in concern, he wasn’t the only one, she could hear Bronya, Lynera and Lanque shouting her name._

_Well…_

_She can’t say she_  wasn’t _expecting that._

* * *

  _ **Years ago**_

It's been,  _about?_ Maybe a bit more than two months since Deilos had ' _adopted_ ' Dave as their own. Or rather, his own. He felt like a male this time 'round. The whole gender thing settled quickly for him as soon as he thought more and more into it. He was rather comfortable with switching preferences now, something about it just seemed right now that they were here. Now that he was here.

He could be a ' _she_ ' one day to a week to back to ' _he_ ' the next week and day, but there would be times where he would settle back to ' _they_ ' when he felt like it. It's not like anyone cared about him. And it wasn't as if he cared for any other person's opinion of him. Maybe before but now, he was completely comfortable with who and what he was.

He was Deilos. 

A name he had picked out of a random page from some book he couldn't remember anymore. It sounded great and just right for him. 

At any rate, it's been a little more than two months since he had saved Dave from the hospital fire, inadvertently faking his death and kidnapping the newborn baby as his own. And, honestly, even if caring for Dave had been a bit more demanding than he had realized, with Dave's necessities that he had mostly stolen from stores in the dead of night as well as the attention he demanded as well... 

He couldn't say he exactly regretted Dave's ' _adoption_ '.

He just wished he had been a bit more prepared for handling a human baby. 

Babies were fucking brutal, he half-heartedly wondered on how Bro had done it in the first place, or how Pounce de Leon did it too.

But dammit if a _sweaty, muscular animal_ could take care of a baby then he could too! Also, Pounce could take care of grubby Nepeta and she had been _a fucking cat_!

A sentient, intelligent purrbeast but still!

He got this, she got this,  _they_ got this.

Over the two months that had passed, Deilos had been very active. Moving from one roof or abandoned or unused property to another, unsure of where to settle yet and trying to stay away from any curious individual that would end up taking refuge in the same abandoned property as he and baby Dave were in. Or like, when the occasional police came to patrol the area and make sure it wasn't being squatted by anyone.

There were a few close calls since Dave was not a quiet camper for half the time. But hey, on the plus side, some buildings were now rumored to be haunted by a ghost baby and an unnerving shadow. 

Aside from the constant move from one place to another, something that probably wasn't healthy for poor little Davey. Deilos often stole from the stores and malls around to keep both him and Dave fed. Especially Dave. 

It was a chore to get baby milk and heat it up somehow but he couldn't exactly lactate -which was gross personally- and Dave wasn't old enough to eat anything Deilos could hunt from the woods, somewhere where he would actually prefer to be in at the moment. But it was too risky to take a baby into the woods without the proper items and everything about that.

Besides, he couldn't possibly take Dave into the woods, it was fucking snowing. 

It was _February_ and it was still cold as **fuck** and _**snowing**_.

Deilos had managed to weather out the snow with the use of his wings, thankfully they were unnaturally heated and served as a good heat source for Dave who also loved his feathery wings. That, and bundling up in lots and lots of blankets. 

Thank god for sylladexes and the fact they didn't exist in this universe.

The sylladex has never been more useful, capable of keeping food fresh and warm longer than normal and storing large amounts of items and Deilos could steal things easily and no one could prove that he was the one who stole anything. Not that that happened often, he was fucking discrete and subtle. His stealth was off the charts. Not to mention he usually stole at night after breaking into somewhere.

Another way on how Deilos and Dave survived the winter, breaking into unused apartments and occasionally using the heater and what not. Mostly on harshly snowing and cold nights or days, when it was hailing and when there was a blizzard going on. 

Deilos should really look for a job and a permanent place of residence but the thought of working somewhere and leaving Dave alone made him uncomfortable. Not to mention interacting with other humans, that was not a thing he was good at but was an inevitable thing since he was now on an Earth that hadn't suffered and hadn't been destroyed in the impending meteoric apocalypse.

Having Dave around actually did wonders for Deilos, his nights were occasionally interrupted with Dave crying awake and waking him up in turn but he had never slept so comfortably in a long time as either of themselves and as themselves. Coming to the new universe was rough, and they spent most nights stalking the Strilondes or staying awake for nights on end, though it wasn't that bad since he was supposed to be somewhat nocturnal. Troll thing but at least it made staying up easier for him. 

But at any rate, having Dave made him, calmer. A sort of longing that he hadn't known even existed being fulfilled. He didn't know whether it was from Nepetasprite, or from Crowsprite, or even Davesprite but... He liked the thought of being a parent to Dave. For reasons he wouldn't be able to fathom until  _very much_ later on, he liked-no  **loved** being Dave's parent.

No matter how hard it was, how rough it had been in the first month, Deilos persevered and made sure Dave was a healthy, happy baby. Deilos had worried for days on end when Dave had gotten sick, a mild fever that he knew wasn't healthy, but he was unwilling to get help from anyone and tried to weather it out on his own, meticulously taking care of Dave and researching all he could on newborn fevers. 

He even went as far as to pray to whatever deity there could possibly be in the new universe.

Thankfully, Dave had survived and was healthy as ever, maybe even more so since he was so energetic during the day and didn't cry as much at night. Oh he did cry a lot but it somewhat died down a little much to Deilos' worry but eventual relief. 

He wouldn't be able to bear it if the baby Dave he had gotten himself so foolishly attached to had died so suddenly after his very irrational and illogical move of taking the baby and trying to raise it as his own. 

In hindsight he probably should have just returned baby Dave to the Strilondes.

Unfortunately, he felt like it was too late for that and that he was already too attached to Dave to actually do that anymore.

It had been two months since the hospital fire, and Deilos didn't really know what or how the Strilondes were doing aside from the occasional tabloid he let himself read about them. Which did fill him with guilt when he did. Two months and they were still mourning the 'death' of Dave, the same Dave that was swaddled and covered by a nice red blanket in a small green baby carrier basket cradle that Deilos stole from the baby aisle from a mall a couple of months ago. It was Dave's main bed when he wasn't being cuddled by Deilos and surrounded by warm feathers and strong arms.

With how peaceful Dave was in the basket, one could almost forget the fact his actual family was going almost nuts with his 'death'. Roxanne had clearly tried to drown herself in alcoholism, David was barely supporting her, himself as well as new baby Rose. Thankfully though, it seemed like they were slowly getting better with the help of Rosaline and Derrick who became strong pillars for their siblings.

Deilos felt guilty for their circumstances but couldn't feel regret as he slowly rocked Dave's basket bed, leaning against the wall of an abandoned decrepid apartment at the edge of the city, the fire he had made was slowly dying but it was still quite warm as Deilos snuggled against the basket, draping a thick blanket over himself but leaving it loose enough so he could move easily if he needed to. 

He would have to move again, the building was going to be demolished soon and he couldn't afford another night to stay there, there was no doubt a report on how the occasional smoke would leak out of the apartment window.

Snuggling close to the basket, Deilos let out a sigh and murmured soft whispers to small baby Dave. Unable to keep to himself in his thoughts, he finally had someone else to regularly talk to besides himself, even if it was a baby. Besides he had heard that parents should regularly talk with their babies, increases their intelligence or something.

Deilos was too tired to think more, he merely huffed and slowly drifted off to sleep, curled against the baby cradle.

Of course he was awoken hours later by Dave crying.

He didn't mind.

* * *

_**In the Present** _

"Well, you have one helluva right hand lady." Deilos couldn't help but blurt out as she rubbed her cheek, keeping an effort to keep her eyes from blinking just yet. She couldn't risk letting her eyes change color from the action, but then again, it was fucking uncomfortable without her shades on. Everything looked so bright, and her pupils would definitely look unnatural as they would dilate into slits.

Maybe she shouldn't have introduced Dave as ' _her_ ' son... not yet? But, it was a habit now, to introduce Dave as her son, it's what he's been for the past decade. Still, Roxanne had every right to slap her for that. Probably. Fuck, it's bright today. Why did it have to be so sunny.

The Strilondes were briefly surprised at the rare differently colored eyes that Deilos possessed, the orange and green orbs that seemed to dilate unnaturally until she groaned and closed her eyes, covering her eyes, "Fuck, it's bright today..." She mumbled aloud, actually stumbling back a bit.

Dave was quick to scramble to her side, dodging David when he tried to stop Dave from leaving their side. He went to retrieve Deilos' shades, "Here Mom, your shades." He said, actually sounding worried about her. He knew how much the sun and bright lights disturbed Deilos' eyes. His mom's totally awesome and enhanced senses were both awesome but also kind of sucky for his mom. 

Oversensing things was a problem his mom had to get over with for the past decade. And despite not having the exact same senses as his mother, his  _now_ mother, not his biological mother that had  _just_ slapped his mother- damn- Dave had been trained with his senses so he could understand a bit on how bad his mom had it when it came to her senses. 

"Why'd you have to slap her? She didn't do anything wrong!" Dave exclaimed to Roxanne, fuming slightly, biological mother or not- you don't just go  _slapping_ people's mothers! Other mothers. Dammit. Maybe Mom should've been Dad today. But then, maybe his biological dad would have tried to do the same thing, only worse, like an actual punch. 

"Thanks kitten." Deilos said quietly, quickly accepting her shades back and putting them on, giving Dave a soft pat to the head. It took a solid minute to get her normal vision back.

Derrick couldn't help the snort that escaped him, quickly, the shock over the heterochromia was temporarily forgotten as they came back to the main subject in hand. "Nothing wrong? Dave-  _kid_ , I don't know how much you know but you're not  _her_ son." He said somewhat bitterly, glancing between Roxanne and his brother before looking back to 'Deilos'- just who was this woman? Declaring herself as Dave's mother. There were some very suspicious circumstances that surrounded her, Derrick was inwardly puzzled though, something about her seemed strangely familiar.

The younger Strider brother was surprised when Dave spoke again, "I know that. I already told you that  _she_ ," He motioned to Roxanne, "Is supposed to be my biological mom right? But she's not the mom that raised me when I was a baby." He pointed out with a huff of annoyance. 

Deilos let a groan escape as Dave's words didn't really help even if he had tried, the Strilonde's faces cracked from their anger into sadness and some more darker anger. "Dave, chicky-kit, I know you're trying to help but you're actually not at the mewment." She told him, Dave scowled and crossed his arms.

"What? It's the truth though. You didn't do anything wrong, you saved me from the fire and raised me. You even told me where I actually came from and didn't hide it from me or anything." He muttered aloud making Deilos groan again, the Strilonde family, at least the adults, weren't looking any better.

The children had gone off to the side, watching with some worry between the two opposing forces. They were joined by Bronya, Lanque, Lynera and the other children from the trip. It was a confusing but also a concerning event that was taking place in front of them. 

" _Isn't that David and Rosaline Strider, what are they doing here?!_ " Lanque whispered to Lynera as they watched, " _There's Roxanne Lalonde and Derrick Strider too!_ "

Lynera kept hold on the children that were in their responsibility, " _I know they're the Strilonde family Lanque but I don't exactly know why they're here or why Miss Lalonde slapped Deilos!_ " She whispered back.

" _Shh, both of you!_ " Bronya hissed at them both, watching the somewhat dramatical event intently. She had always thought that Dave had indeed looked a bit  _too_ much like David Strider, she always had her theories about Dave and Deilos. And now, she was going to learn a bit more about the truth about the two Sprites, plus, she was a bit of a fan for drama.

"You didn't hide it from him?" David repeated with a strange and confused look on his face, it clashed a bit with the underlying anger and darkness. "What the  _fuck_?" He couldn't help but curse out right as he looked between Deilos and Dave.

Dave rose a brow, "I thought you'd approve that, Mom never lied about where I came from. As soon as I was able to understand it, Mom told me all about you guys." He said, looking back to Deilos, "Mom doesn't lie to me often and it's never for long."

Deilos sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose but nodded, "Purrty much. It's actually a purroblem from time to time."

Rosaline narrowed her eyes, lips pursing. "So you knew about us? For how long?" She asked, interrupting her sister who gave her an intense look, she returned it and mentally asked her sister to let her talk for now. "And if you knew about us, why are you staying with her? Did you never thought to seek us out?" Very good questions to ask, she wanted to hear Dave first, then she would address... Deilos. 

Deilos let her. Dave frowned at his aunt, or well, half-aunt and step-mother, "I just said that, and for like, six years. Ever since I turned six." He answered, he actually rolled his eyes at the surprised gasp Roxanne let out as well as the surprised looks from his biological family. "Even though I knew about you it didn't mean I was just going to abandon my Mom just because she wasn't my actual bio-mom. I love Mom, she's the one who raised me and gave me my current life."

For once, Rose spoke up, frowning at her twin brother. "Were you intending to never interact with us despite knowing our relation? Letting us know that you were alive and reuniting with your biological family? With us?" She asked, trying not to look sad and hurt but she wasn't that good with neutral facade just yet. 

Dave shook his head, "No. I mean- I wasn't going to just let you guys not know that I wasn't alive or anything, Mom actually offered to let me contact you after I turned six or seven. She let me have the choice to either stay or go 'home' to you guys. Guess which choice I chose?" He continued before they could even reply, "And it's not only that. Every birthday, she gives me the choice. Again and again but I always chose to stay- I was actually thinking of visiting you guys when I turned either thirteen or like fifteen or whatever. Like I said, wasn't going to leave you guys in the dark about the fact I was alive. Mom would never let me." 

Eyes were turned to Deilos who merely shrugged and grinned at the Strilondes. "True, I wouldn't." She was guilty of a lot of things, and the guilt that weighed the heaviest on her was the fact that the Strilondes thought Dave was dead. She would have eventually revealed the fact that he wasn't, maybe arrange a nice family reunion that  _shouldn't_ involve her. Not immediately or directly at least. 

The Strilondes all had complicated faces, Roxanne and David being the most complicated.

"I think..." Roxanne said slowly, looking from Dave to Deilos, looking grim and serious but not as angry as she had been before. "...That we all need to sit down and have a proper talk." 

Says the woman who had slapped her without talking first, Deilos thought to herself but didn't say it aloud. "Yeah. We really should." She agreed before motioning to their picnic spot. "Want to join our picnic or should we go somewhere else?" 

This was going to be a long talk.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> End of the chapter!
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!
> 
> There was no Strilonde cat fight, yet, maybe, who knows ;} 
> 
> We've got another chapter or so for this, so sit tight! Anything can happen. But the Strilondes and Sprites have finally met!
> 
> Things are definitely get more interesting :]
> 
> Till next chapter!


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